Monday, August 19, 2013

-- Look for the preliminary purchasing managers' report from Markit to
show further pickup in manufacturing activity in August, says Price. Also on the
roster: weekly jobless claims.
-- Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, a policy hawk, speaks to the U.S.
manufacturing summit in Orlando, Fla.
-- The Jackson Hole, Wyo., symposium sponsored by the Kansas City Fed
begins. Janet Yellen, a front-runner to replace Fed Chair Ben Bernanke, will
moderate a panel, although the chairman won't attend.
-- Teen retailers Aeropostale and Abercrombie & Fitch post results. Also
on the roster: Ross Stores.
-- President Barack Obama begins a road trip to win support for his jobs
plan.
-- The World Cancer Congress begins.
Friday 23
-- New-home sales for July should be relatively flat with the prior month,
says Ameriprise's Price.
-- Positions on the scope of an injunction involving Apple and the e-book
price-fixing case are due.
-- The U.N. Security Council meets to discuss the situation in Egypt.

Monday, August 12, 2013

Electric-car pioneer Tesla Motors reported a triumphal June quarter last
Wednesday, jolting the company's shares to $153 (ticker: TSLA) by week's end.
At a market value for Tesla of $18 billion, investors are looking far beyond
its current $90,000 Model S and betting that founder Elon Musk will sell
hundreds of thousands of lower-priced cars.
"I have high confidence that we can create a compelling car for around $
35,000," said Musk in Tesla's earnings Webcast. "There is a huge amount of
work, but no miracle is required." We didn't share that confidence in our June
10 cover story ("Recharge Now!"), when Tesla stock was a mere $102. While
admiring of Musk and the award-winning Model S, we were skeptical that Tesla
could cut battery costs enough to deliver the cheaper "Gen 3" car with a
200-mile range by 2017. We even had the gall to suggest that Tesla stock mightdrop toward $50 if the Gen 3 failed to deliver mass-market sales. Nothing in
its results changes that picture.

(FROM BARRON'S 8/5/13)
Netflix is having a good summer. The Internet streaming service garnered
14 Emmy nominations last month, including a Best Actor nod for House of Cards
star Kevin Spacey. Four days later, the company announced that U.S. subscribers
to its video-streaming service hit 30 million.Netflix shares (ticker: NFLX) are up 170% on the year, making them the
best performer in the S&P 500. But it's the future of TV that investors are
really excited about, and Netflix is not shy about putting itself in the center,
declaring on its Website, "Over the coming decades and across the world,
Internet TV will replace linear TV . . . . As Internet TV grows from millions tobillions, Netflix is leading the way."